Do I need video?

Ok, now we know the specs, what it'll do etc of the K5 lets look at something slightly different.

Do I need video?

I don't have a video camera at the moment and was wondering what I'd use one for so...

well only you can decide if you need video.
I suspect if you have video you will wind up using it eventually...

three tips for better video:

1) video is 80% audio... people will sit through crappy video with good sound, but not vice versa.
2) video is about motion... it is good to have the subject in motion or the camera in motion, but seldom good to have both moving at the same time.
3) zooming while filming is bad more often than not.

Thanks Don, I was wondering what I could use video for and if I actually need video?

Need? No. Want? Only you know that.

K.

well... as a wedding shooter I feel both stills and video are important to tell a story...
an intimate glance, a moment, a kiss, captured in a photo frozen in time... to be appreciated even fifty years later.......
then there are the speeches.... a photo of a person holding a mic will tell you who made the speech, but fifty years later, trying to remember where you parked your car is challenging enough... you'll want that video clip to remember what the person holding the mic said....

here is a sample of one of our family camping trips:
link
I don't think a snapshot really tells the story of my little boys day at the beach with his new friend, while we were camping...
these days I find myself asking : do I need to print anything... my stills and video both work as screen savers on our computers and tv....

but video or stills, to choose one over the other is impossible.... for me.

Make a short film?

i don't think you need video. i've only played with it briefly on my k-7, which is the first body i have which can do video.

it's completely different to how i would imagine it. the ability to use slr lenses really does impart a unique look on the film, and adding motion to composition adds a new dimension to how you think—i imagine it would affect your still capture if you played with it much.

but still, i don't need it. and i would be perfectly happy for my next dslr to not have video. but if it's a free add-on, i'm happy to have it there.

Do I need it? No.
Will I use it? Possibly.

There are occasions when I wish I had video. Not many but sometimes it would be nice to capture a small moment in time in video. I am looking forward to trying it out in any case. We'll see whether it gets used much once I've got the camera.

Only found it useful once so far - wife had forgotten to recharge her video camera battery and had no spare, so used it for 4 short sequences at a thermal site in North Island New Zealand.

So for me it's a function I don't use - bit like all the various programme options. And as she's now got a spare battery, chances of using it again are somewhat reduced....


Steve

Did used the video function on the K-X for the first time this holiday and I must say that I quite like it.
It just add a new perspective and the video has a different look to it as your standard videos.
For me it's certainly an added bonus and a reason to get the K5 before the winter.

Need .. no, probably not.

It is quite fun though .. now the K-7 has gone I actually quite miss it (along with the better ISO, larger LCD, faster AF, live view, 100% viewfinder, etc etc etc.)

Yes but maybe not in a serious way.

I've used it to collect the names of over 200 plants rather than taking photo after photo, just walk down the line and then screen cap later from Picasa.

I hate cameras with video mode on a camera should stay a camera and video a video that’s me anyway

Course you don't need video! But you don't need a DSLR camera at all really, either.

Personally I love having the video feature on my camera - in fact I find it equally rewarding to taking pictures, given the right subject. I really enjoy editing video too.